The New Us
by RightWriteWright
Summary: Set after Ruby Circle. Rose/Dimitri, Lissa/Christian, Adrian/Sydney (with Declan), and Jill/Eddie slip away from Court for a much needed-vacation and the opportunity to finally be young and in love. Will Rose & Dimitri finally set a wedding date? How are Sydney & Adrian handling parenthood? What pressures are Lissa & Christian under? Will Jill & Eddie's new relationship last?
1. Chapter 1

"It's amazing what you can do when your best friend is the Moroi Queen," Rose sighed, collapsing into a plush brown suede sofa.

"It's amazing what you can do when your _girlfriend _is the Moroi Queen," Christian echoed.

"Well, she's _my_ sister," Jill laughed.

"And I'm _his_ guardian," Eddie added, thumbing back toward the door where Adrian and Sydney were just walking in. He pulled Jill onto the sofa next to Rose, their hands interlocked. They were already much friendlier with each other than they were when the group had left the Moroi Court early that morning.

"And we're just along for the ride," Adrian chimed, too chipper for his own good. Sydney, in the doorway behind him, laughed, Declan in her arms.

Dimitri just shook his head, smiling as he slipped in carrying half a dozen bags—most of which probably belonged to Rose. His fiancée could pack up and leave with nothing more than the shirt on her back and the silver stake in her belt loop…but she preferred to travel heavy, especially on vacation.

Which was effectively what this was. Even as queen, Lissa had to pull a lot of strings to work this out. It helped that she, Lissa, Christian, Rose, and Dimitri were living legends, war heroes, and some of the most badass dhampirs and fighting Moroi alive. The five of them only had to look at something like they wanted it and it was theirs. So, when Lisa had asked for a month-long, minimally supervised retreat for herself and her closest friends, the Court had to give in. Was it the most practical venture? No. But when Lissa walked into the stately cabin mansion in the secluded hills of the Vermont woods, she knew that all the effort was worth it.

"Finally!" she cried, playfully falling into Christian and wrapping her arms around him. "The Court has been boring me to tears lately! I needed this."

"I think we all did," agreed Sydney. She was sitting on the floor with Declan, unpacking his travel bag and handing him a toy car. She continued rummaging around the bag until she pulled out a sheet of paper. "Not to be the fun sucking human and mother here," she continued, stifling a yawn, "but can we go over the sleeping arrangements? I made a diagram."

Everyone rolled their eyes, but no one was surprised. If Lissa was the mastermind behind this trip, Sydney is the engineer who assured it went smoothly. From suggesting the month—June, when she and Adrian would be off from college—to arranging food deliveries and, apparently, sleeping arrangements, Sydney Ivashkov was the master planner who made sure everything went pleasantly for everyone.

"Let's hear it, Syd," Rose said, rolling over so that her elbows were propped on the arm of the couch and her chin sat neatly in her palms. "As long as you don't have me sharing a wall with Queenie and Hot Head over here." She gestured toward Lissa and Christian who were standing behind the couch and paying very little attention to anything else. "It's bad enough that I've _seen _what they do through the bond. I don't need the audio, too."

"If you think they're bad, don't even get me started on what the Mr. and Mrs. get up to," Jill teased, miming a gagging motion. "We're talking really kinky stuff: leather and ropes and—"

"Say the girls having sexy time with dhampirs!" Adrian cut her off. He personally didn't care if his bedroom preferences were shared in detail with his friends, but he could practically feel Sydney blushing behind him. "Talk about stamina! I mean, Belikov is the physical incarnation of the Russian war god, and if Castile is half as creative in other areas as he is in his cooking, then I don't think either of you have any room to kink-shame."

A wild grin spread across Adrian's face when he saw how uncomfortable both Jill and Eddie were. Rose, on the other hand, just shrugged as if to say that Adrian had a point, and Dimitri, stoic as usual, only twitched the ends of his mouth up in a nearly imperceptible smile.

"I don't want to know about that!" Lissa shuddered. She turned to Sydney, "But I would _love_ to hear what you've worked out for bedrooms. Please."

"Oh, uh, sure," Sydney stammered, unsure as to whether or not the bedroom banter was going to start back up again. There was no denying that all four couples were looking to have some alone time that night. "So, there are three rooms on the floor above us and three on the floor below us. This is the main floor with the kitchen and living room and other common areas," she said. "The pool is out back, and there are bathrooms connected to each bedroom. That being said, I figured that we'd put a nursery together for Declan downstairs, and Adrian and I would take the room next to it. And then next to us we'd put Jill and Eddie—to keep Eddie as close to Adrian as possible, you know? Then, upstairs, that leaves Lissa, Christian, Rose, and Dimitri. You can even put a room between you to soundproof."

Sydney winked, and Christian almost looked like he wanted to bite her head off, but she knew that was mostly just the way Christian looked. They were all close enough friends to accept that completely consensual, adult sex would be happening on this trip, and any strange noises were par for the course. Not that they wouldn't do everything in their power to eliminate as much of that awkwardness as possible, though.

"Works for me," Rose said, swinging her feet off the couch and grabbing one of her many bags from Dimitri. "I'm going upstairs to—" she wiggled her eyebrows "—freshen up."

"I'll bring the rest of our things up, Roza," Dimitri smiled. His dark eyes were fixated on Rose as she disappeared up the steps.

"Have fun, Comrade," Adrian winked, "but remember that us respectable people are going to be awake and socializing for a while. Try to keep it down."

Dimitri only smirked in response.

"Do we actually have to be respectable people and socialize?" Jill asked once Dimitri was out of earshot.

"No, I just wanted to make them feel bad for giving in to their primal urges instead of spending time with their dearest friends," Adrian said. He seated himself in a massive arm chair and rested his feet on the coffee table.

Sydney rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm going to go put this one to bed," she announced. "A day of travel has him a little fussy."

"Vamos, querido. Es la hora de dormir," she added to Declan.

"Hurry, so we can gossip about Rose and Dimitri!" Lissa called after her.

When Sydney returned, Lissa, Christian, Jill, and Eddie were lying on the couch, limbs and bodies intertwined. Lissa nursed a mug of tea as she nestled into Christian's shoulder. Jill had her long, slender legs draped over Eddie's, and his fingers were drifting absentmindedly over her stomach.

There wasn't an inch of space left on the couch.

"Your seat's over here," Adrian's voice came from behind her, dripping with suggestion. Sydney turned around to see her husband sitting in the arm chair patting his knee. Sydney rolled her eyes. Ordinarily, she would have told him off, chastised him for being so puckish in front of other people, but something about the cabin and the surrounding mountain air and the weight of everything that had happened in the last few years made her go and sit on Adrian's lap without question.

If Adrian was surprised by her boldness, he didn't show it. He only ran his hand down her spine, resting it at the small of her back before turning back to Lissa: "So what's this gossip about Rose and Dimitri?"

Lissa sat up a little and set her tea down. "Wedding gossip," she said. "She's been engaged for seven months, and she hasn't told her mother; she hasn't set a date, and she hasn't asked me to be her maid of honor. What's going on? Is she getting cold feet? Is Dimitri getting cold feet?"

"Liss, if anyone would know that, you would," Jill pointed out. "You're her best friend."

"I know, but I'm always with Christian, so that means Dimitri is always around, and she's not going to talk about that with him there. And if I'm not with Christian, we're surrounded by other Royals or Court officials. We don't exactly have much time for 'girl talk.'"

As soon as Lissa finished speaking, the unmistakable sound of rhythmic thumping could be heard from upstairs.

"I don't think she's getting cold feet," Adrian chuckled after a pause. "She's crazy about him. But I do think the idea of getting married scares the hell out her. And I can't say I blame her. I mean, how many healthy marriages do we know of?"

"Sonya and Mikhail," Lissa said.

"You and Sydney," Jill smiled.

"And…" Eddie started, but faltered. "Yeah, that's really about it. I guess Rose and Dimitri don't really have many great role models. You don't really hear about dhampirs getting married, and their situation is—unique, to say the least."

"But you guys did it," Jill said. "And a Moroi/Alchemist relationship is definitely more taboo than two dhampirs."

"Eh, it took a little work to get here," Adrian grinned, burying his face in Sydney's hair, "but I think it worked out."

Sydney relaxed into the feel of Adrian's lips on her neck but kept her cool long enough to respond.

"She'll come around," she agreed. "It's stupid that no one can stay together anymore. They're just getting married to reproduce and keep their family line. No one's had the chance to love whom they want to. It's all been written out and dictated for so long that it's almost breaking from tradition to be in a marriage you legitimately want to be in. But they could start turning the tide." Sydney looked around the room at Jill and Eddie—a Royal and a dhampir—and Lissa and Christian—the Moroi Queen and a social outcast. "And I really think they're just the beginning."

Christian, unnoticed by anyone else, pulled Lissa marginally closer to him, his hand slipping from her shoulder to her waist. Eddie's fidgeting fingers stilled on Jill's knee.

"And we can always give Rose a little friendly push if we need to," Sydney added.

"We might have to," Christian said, his voice half smirk and half sincerity. "I don't know how much more of Liss' 'Babe, what colors do you think she'll choose? I really don't look good in yellow. Babe, do you think she'll wear white? Babe, they won't get married at the Academy, will they?' I can take."

Lissa swatted his arm. "Oh, hush! I'm just practicing for our wedding."

"And when _will_ that be, dearest sister?" Jill asked, unable to hide the prodding curiosity from her voice—not that she tried to.

"'Teen Queen marries Outcast'," Adrian teased as if quoting a newspaper headline. "Won't that be the talk of the town?"

This time Sydney hit him…much less kindly than Lissa had hit Christian.

"Very cute, Ivashkov," Christian replied. This time, his voice was entirely smirk and sarcasm. "I've never heard _anyone_ make fun of the differences in mine and Lissa's social statuses before. That's really clever of you."

"If you got married, you'd have the same social status," Jill pointed out. "Queen and King."

When Christian didn't reply, Lissa came to his defense. "Adrian, I'm twenty-one, so your 'teen queen' headlines don't work anymore. And, guys, you know we've discussed this. We'll get married one day. I think we're both in agreement on that. But, to put it mildly, there's been a lot going on recently, and we're in no rush. Right now, it should all be about Rose and Dimitri and their wedding."

Jill pressed on. "But how wonderful would it be to be engaged at the same time as your best friend? Sydney went and got married without us, so this might be your last chance!"

"What about you?" Lissa quipped, raising a blonde eyebrow at her sister. "What if _we _were engaged at the same time? A double Royal wedding."

Jill flushed. "You're just avoiding the question."

"I think it'd be nice." Lissa shot a quick glance in both Christian and Eddie's direction. Eddie was too overtly uncomfortable to notice, but Christian caught her eye and sighed.

"Maybe we should go to bed before we make Eddie wet himself," he suggested.

"I'm not even tired anymore," argued Lissa. "All this wedding talk has me too excited to sleep."

Christian carefully untangled himself from the couch and picked up their bags from the floor where Dimitri had left them earlier. "Did I say we had to sleep?" he asked nonchalantly.

Lissa relented and followed him upstairs, a shameless smile spreading from ear-to-ear.

"Well, that's our cue to go downstairs and put another sound barrier between us and them," Adrian announced. He tapped Sydney's sides as he urged her to stand up, and she obliged, rolling her eyes as she did so. He took her hand and began to lead her downstairs, calling over his shoulder as he did, "Hey, Jailbait, how's it feel to know that you and your sister will be getting some in the same house at the same time? That's got to be, like, a sisterly right of passage or something, am I right?"

The last thing Jill and Eddie heard was the sound of skin hitting skin and the faint echo of Adrian's cry of, "Ow!"

Eddie looked down at Jill, who had relocated so that her head was now in his lap. He twirled his fingers through her long blonde hair.

"So, uh, about what Lissa was saying, about a double Royal wedding…what exactly does she expect…do you think?"

"_Damn,"_ he thought. _"You're a Guardian, and you sound like a total idiot talking to your own girlfriend. Get over yourself, Castile!"_

Jill sat up, taking his heavy, scarred hands in her own soft, strong ones. "Edison Castile," she smiled. "I love you. I think you're the bravest, kindest, funniest, smartest, and most selfless person I have ever met. But I _just_ turned seventeen. I don't need an engagement ring or a big wedding anytime soon. I just need you. For as long as I can have you."

Eddie smile and released the breath he had been unconsciously holding. "You really are too good for me," he whispered, his lips inches from hers.

"Don't let Lissa get to you," Jill smiled, moving minutely closer. "She's just been _itching _for Christian to propose, and then Dimitri went and beat him to it, and now with Rose dragging their engagement out, I think she's got a lot of pent up frustration."

"That, and, you know, being queen," Eddie whispered, now just centimeters from Jill.

"Yeah, and that," she breathed, closing the gap between their lips.


	2. Chapter 2

"Roza, do you want to marry me?" Dimitri practically purred in Rose's ear, sending shivers down her spine. Her body was pressed into is, her face nestled into his shoulder, her entire being enveloped in intimate bliss, and the question caught Rose off guard.

She lifted her gaze to meet his. "Of course I do. I've never wanted anything more in life," she said. Rose Hathaway didn't panic, but she couldn't keep the hint of worry out of her voice, either. But everything faded when Dimitri smiled down at her, stands of dark hair falling across his perfectly chiseled face.

"Good."

But Rose couldn't—wouldn't—let it go. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason, Roza. Just checking."

"Dimitri," she said sternly. He wasn't getting by with just an angelic smile this time. Despite the front she put up, Rose knew she would be thinking about that question for the rest of her life if they didn't settle this now. "Is there something wrong? Are you sure _you _want to marry _me_?" There was no hiding the concern and anger and hurt that was rising in her voice now. "Because I know it's been hard on everyone recently, and if things are changing then—"

"Roza, Roza, sshh," Dimitri whispered, pulling Rose's body tight against his. "It's nothing like that. Things are hard, yes, and things are changing, yes, but only in the sense that the difficult times are making me love you more. I want you more today than I did when I asked you to marry me, and I'll want you more tomorrow, and I'll want you more the day after that and the day after that, and, as long as we're alive, my love for you will keep growing."

Rose felt her shoulders relax as she gave in to his warm arms and sweet accent. "Then why did you ask?" she repeated.

"Because we've been engaged more than six months, and you haven't planned a thing."

Rose paused a moment. "You and me in a church. I'll wear something white," he said decisively.

She could feel Dimitri's smile as he pressed his lips to her forehead. "That would be wonderful, Roza, but my mother and sisters will want to be there. And our friends, too."

"Okay, then you and me and our closest family and friends in a church. I'll still wear something white."

"And what will I wear?"

"I prefer you in nothing, but if that won't be acceptable in a church then I suppose you can wear whatever dhampirs wear for their weddings."

Dimitri laughed softly. "I'm not sure I know what that is," he said. "I don't know many dhampirs who have gotten married."

"What did Mikhail wear at his and Sonya's wedding? You can wear something like that. Or just wear that old duster. I don't care as long as you're there."

Dimitri smiled again. "And when should I be there? Wherever 'there' is."

Rose made a split-second decision. "Next month. July. Pick any day you want."

Dimitri tempered his surprise. One of the many things he loved about Rose was her spontaneity. He paused only a minute before answering: "The sixteenth."

The smile that had been spreading across Rose's face now burst out as she set up and looked straight into her fiancé's eyes. "You have a deal, Comrade." She held out her hand for Dimitri to shake, but he only laughed and kissed her.

"Did we just set a date, Mrs. Belikov?" he asked.

"I think we did, Mr. Belikov. Should we tell the others?"

Dimitri was already settling back down into the plush pillow and down comforter of their king-sized bed. "It's late, Roza," he mumbled, feigning sudden exhaustion. "They're all asleep."

"But there's so much to do! I have to ask Liss and Jill and Syd to be bridesmaids, and we need to get in touch with your family, and we need to pick a place, and I need to get a dress."

"We can start that tomorrow," he said, trying to hide his smile in the pillowcase. "You haven't done anything in seven months, and now you want to plan a wedding in an evening." His tone wasn't reprimanding. He was amused if anything—and so, so happy.

Rose lay down beside him, her nose centimeters from his. "It's just real now," she said. "I guess I thought that, after you proposed, something was bound to happen that would force us apart. Our assignments would change, or there would be a crisis at Court, and Lissa and Christian would have to come first. I didn't want to plan my life out only to have it taken away from me, because being engaged to you is, honestly, the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I didn't want to lose that feeling."

Several minutes of silence passed between them before Dimitri spoke. "Oh, Roza. No one is going to take me away from you. We are forever."

Everyone was undeniably chipper at breakfast—well, brunch—the next morning, because, according to Adrian, "We all got laid last night!"

His exclamation was met with eye rolls from his wife and Jill. Lissa just ignored him, and Eddie tried to hide his blush. And even though Rose, Dimitri, and Christian all smirked, none of them accepted the high-fives he offered. They continued to sip their coffees in post-sex bliss.

"If you keep this up, last night will be the last time you get laid," Sydney growled in his ear, tactfully out of reach of their toddler who was stacking blocks nearby on the living room floor.

"Is that a challenge?" Adrian asked, his green eyes sparkling.

"Dimitri and I have an announcement," Rose said, breaking up the festival of sexual tension between the newlywed Ivashkovs.

Adrian fell instantly back into his and Rose's usual banter. "Oooh is Little Dhampir about to tell us to expect more little dhampirs?"

Rose beamed, but immediately let her face fall. "No," she said flatly. "Something better. We've set a wedding date."

Lissa and Jill squealed, and even Sydney rushed to hug Rose.

_"About time, Rose," _Adrian thought, not hiding his own smile. It was moments like this that reminded him they were all in their 20s—well, except for teenage Jill, and she certainly didn't normally act like a seventeen-year-old, either. They had survived more than people two and three and four times their age hadn't gone through. Whether it was life on the run or cultish families or Spirit damage or just the insufferable politics of the Moroi Royal Court, no one had been able to live freely—until now. And as he watched his wife smile, he was reminded that she was, in fact, a twenty-two-year-old woman. That often got buried under her other titles of wife and mother and former-Alchemist and student and fugitive. And, for that matter, Adrian was only twenty-three, but he felt so much older usually. But just a glance at Lissa and Rose told him that he wasn't alone in that feeling. Twenty-one years old, and they were already the Moroi Queen and her Head Guardian, not to mention that they were both total badasses in their own rights, too.

And then there were the boys: Eddie, Christian, and Dimitri. It was easier to believe that Eddie was young, but that didn't negate the fact that his hazel eyes sometimes clouded with the horror of what had happened to him. He knew more loss than most dhampirs his age, but he refused to let it make him hard. Unlike Christian, whom Adrian had always thought was the hardest of them all. Then again, he had been on the receiving end of the Moroi's merciless political bullying since he was a child. His callous, sarcastic demeanor was a wall that shielded a hurt boy. But, despite it all, he had remained brave, loyal, and fiercely protective of those who were able to see past his charade.

And, finally, Adrian's eyes fell on Dimitri. Dimitri Belikov, the definitive best Guardian in the world. A Russian warlord who never broke under pressure, who was turned Strigoi and brought back, who could practically kill with a look, who could sleep with a student and still keep his job. He was truly untouchable…and he had to be at least forty to have that much experience, but both he and Rose swore he wasn't a day over twenty-seven. Adrian had his doubts, but there was no denying that, regardless of his age, Dimitri was scary as hell. Relatively few people got to see the quiet, soft side of him, the side that loved Western novels and put up with Rose's countless antics with patience and endless love.

Christian's voice cut through Adrian's reverie and the girls' shrieking: "So, when's the wedding? You actually haven't said that part yet."

"July sixteenth," Rose smiled.

"Next summer?" Jill asked, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

Rose's grin grew wilder. "Next _month_," she said.

That's when the rapid-fire questions started, with Lissa on one side and Sydney on the other.

"Have you called your families?"

"How many people are you going to have in your bridal party?"

"Where do you want to have the ceremony? I can literally reserve anywhere for you."

"We can go into town and go dress shopping whenever you to, but sooner is better than later at this point."

The questions kept coming: colors, number of guests, time of day, seating plan, flowers, bridesmaids dresses. Adrian was beginning to think that his and Sydney's drive-by Vegas wedding had made been the right move after all, seeing as these questions were starting to make even the great Rose Hathaway a little dizzy. But it was the kind of dizziness that accompanied happiness, and Rose hadn't had enough of that feeling in her life. It was nice to have a future to look forward to rather than dread.

Rose took Lissa's slim hands in her own. "Liss, will you be my Maid of Honor?"

The blonde threw her arms around Rose's neck. "Of course! I'd be honored!"

And Rose hugged her back. For once, she didn't have to have her guardian mask on. She could just be a girl planning her wedding with her best friend.

"And, Jill, will you and Sydney be bridesmaids?"

"Yes!" they responded in perfectly high-pitched unison.

"Okay, okay, I know we have a million things to do, but Dimitri and I should probably go try to call his mom. I want his sisters to be bridesmaids, too. And if they're going to get here in time, they probably need as much of a heads up as we can give them," Rose said. She grabbed Dimitri's hand and led him out the back door to the porch.

What started as a month-long vacation of well-deserved relaxation quickly turned into a crash-course in wedding planning. There wasn't a minute that someone wasn't on the phone with someone to verify plans. It was mostly Sydney (who was completely in her element), Rose, Lissa, and Jill, but everyone could see that Dimitri was enjoying as much or more so than the girls. He was almost giddy when he came downstairs a week after the announcement.

"I just talked to Viktoria," he said. "My mother and sisters and the kids will be flying into Court on the second. That gives them two weeks to get settled and work out the last-minute details before the wedding."

"Did she also give you the measurements we asked for?" Sydney asked. She was smiling at the prospect of Dimitri getting to see his family again, but she was eyebrow deep in a wedding magazine, apparently dog-earing the pages of particular bridesmaids dresses.

"She gave me the kids' measurements, but she refused to give me hers, Sonja's, and Karolina's. She said she would text them to you."

Sydney's phone pinged with a text message. "Great, because I'll need to send them pictures of these dresses before we make a decision." She quickly transferred the numbers from Viktoria's text message to her notebook of all things wedding related. When she finished, she called upstairs: "Rose! We've got to go! Dress shopping time!"

Rose came hopping down the stairs with Declan on her hip. Setting him down next to Adrian, who had been watching the exchange from the couch, she said, "Okay, let's do this!"

"Whatever you pick will be beautiful, Roza," Dimitri said, kissing the top of Rose's head. "Like you."


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay, I did a lot of research, and based on factors like location, price range, and stock variety, I figured that this place is our best bet to find all the dresses we need," Sydney said as she pulled the black sedan into the parking lot of Stitches Bridal Shoppe in Montpelier, Vermont. The capital city was only an hour and a half from their cabin on the Canadian border, but anything more than a few miles out of the city seemed like wilderness.

Rose smiled as she practically hopped out of the car. "Syd, what would we do without you?"

"You definitely wouldn't be able to pull off getting married in a month," she sighed. "Anyway, we have an appointment with Jeanne at 10. I gave her your real name, because I figured even you can't get us in trouble all the way out here in a bridal salon of all places."

Rose grinned. "You underestimate me, Sagevashkov, but thank you. I'll behave."

They were met at the door by a pleasant young woman in her mid-twenties. Rose, Sydney, Jill, and Lissa were the only customers in the store. "Hello, welcome to Stitches!" the woman smiled. "I'm Jeanne, and one of you must be Rosemarie."

Rose held up a hand, cringing slightly that Sydney had given the salon her formal name. "That's me."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Rosemarie!" Jeanne said, pulling her in for a hug. "I spoke to Sydney on the phone—" she looked around at the girls, and Sydney smiled in acknowledgement— "and she told me everything! I know it sounds crazy, but I think it's so wonderful that you want to get married before he leaves. It's so romantic."

Rose smiled in agreement. Sydney had gone over the whole cover story on the drive down. They may have given Jeanne real names and wedding date, but everything else was fake. The story was that Dimitri was in the military and would be deployed overseas at the end of July. He and Rose and their friends were vacationing in a national park in the southern part of Vermont when Dimitri surprised Rose by proposing, and they wanted to have a small ceremony at home in Pennsylvania before he left, so they decided to come shopping. It was, in all honesty, a pretty believable story.

"So, who else is here today?" Jeanne asked.

"Well, you already know Sydney," Rose said. "She's one of my bridesmaids, mother of our ring bearer, and my official unofficial wedding planner."

"There is no way you've had a baby!" Jeanne exclaimed, pulling Sydney in for a hug as well.

Sydney blushed. "Well, I haven't exactly. My husband and I adopted Declan when he was about six months old. He's almost two now."

"That is so beautiful!" Jeanne gushed. "I'm sure he's just a doll."

Sydney nodded, and Rose continued with introductions.

"And this is Lissa and Jill. Lissa is my Maid of Honor and best friend since Kindergarten, and Jill is her younger sister and another good friend. She's also a bridesmaid."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you all as well, and I'm sure that four stylish girls like yourselves will find something stunning for Rosemarie's wedding. You're all beautiful. You could be models."

"I'm hoping we can find more than one dress," Rose said. "For them, too, I mean. I'd really like to find bridesmaids dresses today."

"Of course!" Jeanne assured her. "Sydney mentioned that, too."

"_Of course she did," _Rose thought. _"Sydney has thought of everything."_

"And I understand that you have some other bridesmaids who will be flying in?"

"My fiancé's sisters, yes. They'll be flying in from Russia in a few weeks, but we have their measurements. We just need to send them pictures before we actually buy anything."

Jeanne's near-perfect demeanor almost cracked, but she never stopped smiling her overly perky smile. "My, this is going to be one big appointment. We better get you started!"

Jeanne enlisted the help of another consultant, an older woman by the name of Marjory to help Lissa, Sydney, and Jill into bridesmaid dresses while Jeanne and Rose went looking for a "sexy" wedding dress that she could take home today. Lissa, Jill, and Sydney were unanimously in agreement that Rose's bridal style was "sexy with an emphasis on boobs," and Rose couldn't disagree. She had no desire to be a princess or a goddess or a fairy or anything that she had heard so many women describe. She wanted to be so hot that she melted Dimitri's Siberian exterior.

It didn't take long for Rose to realize that she loved every dress she put on. She had sometimes been insecure about her dhampir curves compared to the tall, slender Moroi, but she had always known that boys loved them, and, seeing those curves nipped and tucked and cinched into hundreds of feet of satin and crystal, she finally understood why: she was hot. Jeanne tied everything so that her waist was tiny and her boobs and butt looked swimsuit model good. If this is how she always looked to Dimitri, she could understand why he had been trying to marry her for years.

When she came out in the first dress, a strappy, slinky silk charmeuse gown with a deep v-neck, open back, all-over art deco beading, and a short, beaded train the girls were already sitting on the couch in three different navy blue gowns.

Lissa cried first. "Rose, you're so beautiful, oh my gosh! And you're getting married! I just—I'm so happy for you! You deserve all of this and so much more!"

Jill was right behind her. "That dress is so glamorous, and you're rocking it, and I can't believe this is really happening!"

Even Stoic Sydney was sentimental. "Rose, I honestly think you could wear anything and look amazing, and this dress is 'wow'…but am I allowed to say that it looks a little like an expensive nightgown?"

"Like I'm wearing just a slip?" Rose laughed. "I kind of agree, but Dimitri might like that." She turned around to face the couch. "Okay, let me see yours now."

Given the timeframe, they wouldn't be able to order six of the same dress for all of the bridesmaids, so Rose had elected to let each girl choose her own dress as long as it was floor-length and navy. It made her job as bride a lot easier; she just had to watch her friends play dress up.

Standing in front of her now were three different and beautiful girls wearing three different and beautiful gowns: Sydney, with her short, dark blonde hair and brown doe eyes, wore a modest chiffon gown with a crocheted top and short cap sleeves. The bodice was accented occasionally with navy sequins. It was sweet and simple and practical; it was pretty without being obnoxious. It suited her.

Next to Sydney stood Lissa, her silky hair pulled into a high ponytail. She had chosen a long chiffon dress as well, but hers sported thin lace straps and a moderately deep v-neck trimmed in lace in both the front and back. Where the bodice met the skirt was a tastefully sparkly belt. It looked like it was made for Lissa.

Last was Jill, so very like Lissa with her blonde hair and green eyes, but with a nose that matched her mother's. Her youthful eye for the latest trends was evident in her pick of a boho chiffon dress with an off-the-shoulder ruffle trimmed in delicate fringe. She looked like a wood nymph, Rose thought, or maybe a water nymph—one that would lure you into a secret lake in the middle of a forest with her charms and then drown you.

"You all look stunning," Rose finally said. "I mean, like, wow. I'm going to have to do better than this if I'm going to stand out next to you."

"You like them?" Jill blushed, twirling a little. "Mine is super comfy."

"Mine is, too," Lissa said.

"It fits like a glove," Sydney agreed.

"Well, get them if you like them," Rose said. "I don't care what you wear. I know it'll be perfect."

"I'll commit to mine, then!" Jill smiled as she played with the fringe on her dress. Lissa and Sydney nodded with her.

"Oh, that's great news!" Jeanne exclaimed, not bothering to hide the obvious relief in her voice. "Now, what do we think about Rosemarie's gown?"

It was a unanimous "nice but not right" from the group, and as they parted to change, Rose could hear Sydney dictating Viktoria's, Sonja's, and Karolina's dress sizes to the others so that they could start looking for dresses for them next.

For once, Rose only had to worry about herself.

There weren't many options as far as sexy, ready-to-wear, in-budget gowns went, but Rose tried them all on. And, as she had imagined, she looked good in all of them, but nothing felt like the gown she was going to wear when she finally married Dimitri.


End file.
